


Blatant Interest

by afteriwake



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Awkward Molly, Eventual Irene Adler/Molly Hooper, F/F, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, Nervous Molly, POV Molly, POV Molly Hooper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 13:50:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6009202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Molly isn’t <i>entirely</i> sure Irene is interested in her until they meet for brunch on Valentine’s Day. Then Irene makes her interest much more plainly known.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blatant Interest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WinterRose16](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterRose16/gifts).



> So when I told my Tumblr followers I wanted to write a bunch of Sherlock femslash for Femslash Febraury I sasked for prompts, and **WinterRose16** gave me the prompt " _Mollrene: Molly has never been flirted with by a woman before, and Irene is coming on pretty darn strong._ " for a fic and this is what came of it! Hopefully it will be enjoyed by all.

She wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about Irene. She wasn’t sure about her intentions. She was supposed to be dead, first off; that was an autopsy she had done herself. Sherlock had said it was her. And yet here she was, walking around, a part of their lives like there was nothing wrong with it. Sherlock kept her at arm’s length for the most part but she could tell he was still keeping an eye on her, still keeping tabs. And she was worming her way deeper into his life, sinking her talons into every aspect of it.

Including, it seemed, his friendships.

She wasn’t _all_ bad, though, not really. The conversations they had were pleasant, she supposed. The fact Irene made time for her and took her to nice places was nice. The shopping was also fun; Irene would tend to splurge on her a bit, get her pretty baubles and nice frocks and it was…nice.

It just felt a bit strange, was all. Like she was being courted, almost.

But that was all in her head, wasn’t it? Irene Adler couldn’t be interested in _her_ , not when everyone else gave her such a wide berth. No one had asked her out since she ended her engagement nearly a year ago, other than for the occasional cup of coffee, but even those invitations were rare. Her time spent with Irene was the bulk of her social life these days. She wondered about that sometimes, about whether messages were getting telegraphed that she was off limits. She should have a talk with Irene about that.

They were to have Sunday brunch at The Delaunay. It was supposed to be hard to get a table, as it was Valentine’s Day and all, but Irene had said not to worry, just to show up, she would take care of everything. She’d dressed nicely and done her hair and make-up with more care than usual because…well, because she wanted to look pretty. And, she supposed, it wouldn’t hurt to put in the effort. If there was something to the idea that Irene was courting her, shouldn’t she look pretty?

The idea should have made her run for the hills. Not that a woman was interested in her, not that; she’d had her period in college where she wasn’t sure of her sexuality, and while she’d never _been_ with a woman she hadn’t thought she’d mind much. Truth be told, even after she seemed to start exclusively dating men, she still wasn’t 100% sure, and after Tom she’d honestly just be happy with someone who loved her and treated her with kindness and respect regardless of their gender. No, what should have worried her was that it was _Irene Adler_ ; she had her reputation for a reason, and she was known to break up marriages and, presumably, break hearts. The reputation differed from what she had seen in person but still, wouldn’t there be some truth to it?

She arrived at The Delaunay and gave Irene’s name and was taken to a nice table to see Irene already there. “Molly!” she said with a warm smile. “You look very nice. Almost good enough to eat.”

Molly warmed slightly and swallowed thickly at that as the waiter pulled out a seat for her and she sat down. She had never eaten here before and there was quite a bit on the menu that looked appetizing once she began to study it. After a moment she realized Irene was not studying her menu. Instead, she was studying _her_. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

“You dressed up,” Irene said. “I like it. It definitely suits you.” She let her eyes moved down to the edge of the table. “And you’re wearing the Marchesa Notte dress that I thought looked good on you. I was absolutely right that it did.”

Molly smiled at that as she grew warmer and glanced down at the navy blue and pink dress she was wearing. It had been quite expensive but she had loved it, with the beautifully shaped V-neck collar and the shape of the pink flowers all around it and the way the hem had fallen just at the knee. She had reluctantly walked away from it only to find it delivered to her flat the next day with the note to “wear it on a special occasion.” Well, this was certainly a good choice. “I certainly liked it and thought it would be nice for today,” she said.

“I almost want to take you out and about London to show it off,” Irene said, and when Molly looked up she was resting her chin on her hands and looking at Molly with a warm smile. “If that’s all right with you, of course.”

“Oh. Um…I wouldn’t mind,” Molly said. “I mean, what did you have in mind?”

“Perhaps a play somewhere, or an opera performance. Though the dress isn’t _quite_ spectacular enough for the opera, but I’m sure we could find something. Or dinner somewhere nice. A nice secluded table, where we can have some privacy. We could spend the remainder of the day about town, or…perhaps at my home, and we could be careful not to wrinkle the dress. Of course, if you’re out of it, I don’t suppose that would be a problem.”

Molly nervously moved her hand and knocked over her glass of water, sending it onto the table towards Irene. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” she said.

“I should be apologizing,” Irene said, moving to sop up the spill with her cloth napkin before signaling a waiter. “You’re not used to being so blatantly flirted with, are you?”

“Not generally,” Molly admitted. “I’ve only had it happen once or twice. Mostly under the influence of alcohol, and…then they never contacted me again. And it's never happened with a woman before.”

“I see,” Irene said as a waiter came to finish mopping up the spill. When he had left Irene leaned forward, looking at Molly. “I am quite attracted to you, Molly. There are many things I would like to do to you and have done by you, if you’re willing. But first and foremost, I would like to have an actual, honest to God relationship with you. You deserve that much at least. I suppose my reputation is off-putting, but near death experiences will change a woman.” She reached over to grasp Molly’s hand, heedless of the dampness of the tablecloth. “I am a woman who appreciates the physicality of a relationship, but I think, with you, I could appreciate more than that. But only if you’re willing.”

Molly looked at her in stunned silence for a moment, unsure of what she had just heard. Irene was attracted to her? Wanted to be in a relationship with her? She had to admit, there was attraction on her part; Irene was lovely, and the time they had spent together had convinced her that perhaps her reputation wasn’t wholly deserved. And as she looked her in the eyes, perhaps…well, perhaps she could give her a chance to prove that this was really, truly what she wanted. She nodded slowly as she grasped her hand a little more tightly. “All right,” she said. “I suppose we can give it a try.”

“Good,” Irene said, her warm smile coming back. “For now, I’ll keep my carnal fantasies to myself, until you’re more comfortable, but at least let’s have ourselves an enjoyable first date, shall we?” Molly found herself smiling back as Irene gave her hand one last squeeze before pulling her hand away and picking up her menu. This was going to be quite interesting, Molly thought, but she found herself looking forward to whatever this relationship would bring.


End file.
